Teen charged in Canada school shooting appears in court

(Reuters) - The 17-year-old male charged in the shooting deaths of four people in northern Canada appeared briefly in court on Monday and remained in custody, media reported.

Police arrested the teen, who cannot be publicly named under Canadian law because he is under 18, on Friday after a shooting at a high school and home in remote La Loche, Saskatchewan, about 600 km (375 miles) northwest of Saskatoon.

He faces four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder and unauthorized possession of a firearm. Seven people were wounded.

The youth appeared in provincial court in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, staring at the floor during a brief hearing in which a judge banned publishing the identities of the surviving victims, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He will next appear in court by video from jail on Feb. 22.

The teen was sensitive and quiet, and often taunted about his large ears, according to La Loche residents, the StarPhoenix reported Monday. The newspaper, citing three sources, said the gunman dared people inside the school on Friday to tease him about his ears, and spared students who had been kind to him.

Donna Johnson, assistant deputy minister of Saskatchewan's education ministry, said it was unclear when La Loche students would return to school. She said the government will consult the community about the school's future, after local politicians called for it to be demolished.